Post by bubba on Jan 14, 2023 11:58:08 GMT -4
What might be good inspirational material for Weird Heroes of Public Access?
There are more than a few tabletop role-playing games that can be yanked off the shelf and cannibalized for your Weird Heroes of Public Access game. Here are five that sprang immediately to mind:
Pandamonium (1993) - Players take on the roles of tabloid reporters, chasing down Fortean Times types of stories assigned to them by an Editor. Stephan Michael Sechi's game stresses investigation and the game system is simple to teach for a convention one-shot.
www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9939.phtml
InSpectres (2002) - One of the earlier storytelling games to come out of the tabletop RPG renaissance on The Forge, InSpectres' characters have bought into a Reality TV franchise specializing in paranormal investigations. Jared Sorensen's rules-lite system could easily be re-tooled for a WHPA setting.
www.wired.com/2011/10/who-ya-gonna-call-inspectres-an-in-depth-rpg-review/
Unknown Armies, 2e (2002) - WHPA characters bear the hallmarks of the go-gonzo-or-go-home characters of the Occult Underground in Greg Stolze & John Tynes' game of post-modern magick.
www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/classic/rev_7780.phtml
Monster Of The Week (2012) - Michael Sands' offering is probably one of the best Powered By The Apocalypse games to handle a WHPA setting, albeit the character playbooks are too over-powered.
geekgirlbookworm.wordpress.com/2018/07/28/review-monster-of-the-week/
Liminal_ (2022) - Alexei Vella's recently shipped kickstarter should not be confused with the Modiphius Entertainment's ttRPG with a similar name. This RPG takes the horror of the Back Rooms and post-void to its unnatural conclusion. A crossover session from WHPA to Liminal_ would be fine, although might end in a lethal SCP-styled TPK.
www.wargamer.com/liminal-space/rpg-inspired-by-scp
Other media content abounds. Here are five quick examples:
Welcome To Night Vale (Podcast and books, 2012-present) This long-running series is basically the low-Wattage radio station version of Weird Heroes of Public Access. www.welcometonightvale.com/listen
Scarfolk Council (Various media and ephemera, 2010-ish) scarfolk.blogspot.com/ &
www.atlasobscura.com/articles/digging-through-the-archives-of-scarfolk-the-internets-creepiest-fake-town
Twin Peaks (TV, 1990) You want small town weirdness true to circa 1980s Cable Public Access glory days? You betcha.
www.imdb.com/title/tt0098936/
Kolchek The Nightstalker (TV series, 1974) Carl Kolchak reports for a Chicago newspaper. Through more accident than design, he ends up investigating homicides, many of which involve supernatural forces. Ultimately, rather than reporting on the crimes, he solves them.
www.imdb.com/title/tt0071003/
Secure. Contain. Protect. (N/A) There's not much that should be written about SCP. Nothing, really.
the-scp.foundation/
What would y'all add to a WHPA Appendix N?
There are more than a few tabletop role-playing games that can be yanked off the shelf and cannibalized for your Weird Heroes of Public Access game. Here are five that sprang immediately to mind:
Pandamonium (1993) - Players take on the roles of tabloid reporters, chasing down Fortean Times types of stories assigned to them by an Editor. Stephan Michael Sechi's game stresses investigation and the game system is simple to teach for a convention one-shot.
www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9939.phtml
InSpectres (2002) - One of the earlier storytelling games to come out of the tabletop RPG renaissance on The Forge, InSpectres' characters have bought into a Reality TV franchise specializing in paranormal investigations. Jared Sorensen's rules-lite system could easily be re-tooled for a WHPA setting.
www.wired.com/2011/10/who-ya-gonna-call-inspectres-an-in-depth-rpg-review/
Unknown Armies, 2e (2002) - WHPA characters bear the hallmarks of the go-gonzo-or-go-home characters of the Occult Underground in Greg Stolze & John Tynes' game of post-modern magick.
www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/classic/rev_7780.phtml
Monster Of The Week (2012) - Michael Sands' offering is probably one of the best Powered By The Apocalypse games to handle a WHPA setting, albeit the character playbooks are too over-powered.
geekgirlbookworm.wordpress.com/2018/07/28/review-monster-of-the-week/
Liminal_ (2022) - Alexei Vella's recently shipped kickstarter should not be confused with the Modiphius Entertainment's ttRPG with a similar name. This RPG takes the horror of the Back Rooms and post-void to its unnatural conclusion. A crossover session from WHPA to Liminal_ would be fine, although might end in a lethal SCP-styled TPK.
www.wargamer.com/liminal-space/rpg-inspired-by-scp
Other media content abounds. Here are five quick examples:
Welcome To Night Vale (Podcast and books, 2012-present) This long-running series is basically the low-Wattage radio station version of Weird Heroes of Public Access. www.welcometonightvale.com/listen
Scarfolk Council (Various media and ephemera, 2010-ish) scarfolk.blogspot.com/ &
www.atlasobscura.com/articles/digging-through-the-archives-of-scarfolk-the-internets-creepiest-fake-town
Twin Peaks (TV, 1990) You want small town weirdness true to circa 1980s Cable Public Access glory days? You betcha.
www.imdb.com/title/tt0098936/
Kolchek The Nightstalker (TV series, 1974) Carl Kolchak reports for a Chicago newspaper. Through more accident than design, he ends up investigating homicides, many of which involve supernatural forces. Ultimately, rather than reporting on the crimes, he solves them.
www.imdb.com/title/tt0071003/
Secure. Contain. Protect. (N/A) There's not much that should be written about SCP. Nothing, really.
the-scp.foundation/
What would y'all add to a WHPA Appendix N?
